BREAKING: Trump-Voting Red State First to Suffer from Medicaid Shakeup

Trump begins his war on Medicaid

On Thursday we reported on the latest disgusting policy move by the Trump Administration, which would be targeting the Medicaid health program in the United States by adding a work requirement. President Trump, like other rich people in the Republican Party, evidently believes that most of the impoverished in the country are lazy moochers that exploit the U.S. social support systems like Ronald Reagan’s infamous welfare queen.

The requirements will be determined by each individual state, but overall they share the same trait of forcing “able-bodied” recipients to work in order to receive their Medicaid support, despite the fact that 60 percent of Medicaid receivers are already working.

The kicker is that — even before the policy was finalized — we knew that it would hurt Trump voters the most. While the myth of Trump relying purely on the working-class to get elected in 2016 has been dispelled, there is no doubt that he scored victories in the Rust Belt and Midwest, which hold lower-class families. These citizens will be feeling the brunt of the Trump Administration’s pro-wealthy/anti-poor initiatives, starting with Kentucky.

Kentucky was a pro-Trump state during the Republican Primary and general election. Though less than 60 percent of potential voters turned out to vote, Trump managed to gain a sweeping victory, winning five of the six congressional districts and the vast majority of the state’s counties, including the typically Democratic Elliot County.

Those Kentuckians will now be reaping what they sow as the state government has received permission from the White House to impose their first strict work requirement. According to the Times Union;

“The change will require adults between the ages of 19 and 64 to complete 80 hours per month of “community engagement” to keep their coverage. That includes getting a job, going to school, taking a job training course and community service”

Assuming these entail a typical 9-5 schedule and exclude weekends, able-bodied Medicaid recipients would have to commit 10 days or two full-time work weeks to doing these tasks. It is absolutely ridiculous and cruel.

It has been made clear in the past that the majority of states that need federal assistance the most, whether it be through welfare, food stamps, or Medicaid, are ironically red states. Meaning the GOP has managed to convince their own voters to vote against their interests. Kentucky itself is the best example of this disturbing hypocrisy, as it contains the aptly nicknamed “food stamp capital of the nation,” Owsley County, which — for the record — is 95% Republican, and 99% white.

We will see if this attack on Medicaid changes their attitudes towards the Republican Party, and Donald Trump, come 2018/2020.